Actually, Qin Ruo had only seen Netherclaw once in the past.
They were at the fifth level of Graveyard of the Gods when he had a conflict with Dark Dragon.
The only thing about the Tier 4 Aquamancer that attracted Netherclaw’s attention that time was his Tier 5 Summoned Miniboss Amethyst Orc, as well as the then rare Pet Poochie.
So Qin Ruo knew little about Netherclaw—not as much compared to Brother Da.
Based on his personal experience and some of the stories he had heard from Violet Orchid and Dark Annihilator, Qin Ruo could hardly construct a good impression of him, one of the strongest players in the Angel Faction.
Netherclaw could choose to stay out from the dispute between Qin Ruo and Dark Dragon. But not only did he intervene, he even called upon Field Commanders from his Associate Clans to sabotage Qin Ruo.
Other than that, he had also forced Bauhinia Clan to agree to his terms of getting Qin Ruo barred from entering Aricus Underground Ruins.
After all these targeted operations, it was difficult for Qin Ruo to speak politely to the person in front of him, who had secretly plotted the said vengeful ops behind the scenes.
Moreover, judging Qin Ruo current power and status, he no longer needed to pretend obediently (not like he did before) in front of Netherspirit’s Claw members, including Netherclaw himself.
The latter had unwillingly accepted their now equal standards. This was what made Netherclaw lament that the world had spun forward rather rapidly. He quickly took a scan on the three people following behind Qin Ruo.
A newborn-winged owner, a flying Terramancer that had replaced half of his equipment with Legendary quality, and lastly the unchanged flying Aeromancer.
The presence of Subjugator in the sky and the relatively quick change of equipment on Black Rock made Netherclaw sigh again in silence. He did not show his amazement but spoke casually, “I noticed from afar that you all are confronting several Demon Faction players just now. That’s why we dropped by to see whether you guys needed assistance. If you don’t mind, we will stay and observe. You guys can proceed with whatever you are all doing.” He was indeed a cunning fox that had been active in the game since the early days. He was all smiles with pure sincerity and seemed to not be bothered by Qin Ruo’s unfriendly tone.
Watching Netherclaw and Snowmelt ascend a hundred meters above and away from Galbis’ Lair without the intention to leave, Black Rock and Apocalypse scowled at the same time. They asked cautiously through the Clan’s channel, “Observe my ass. Will they ever allow us to observe when they are looting?”
“Qin Ruo, why don’t we secretly take down Netherclaw for good? I don’t like him anyway, since a long time ago,” Black Rock suggested.
Subjugator and Apocalypse jumped to their feet listening to Black Rock in bewilderment.
“F*ck! Don’t be rash.”
“He is right. Our Angel Faction has just experienced a calamity. Don’t you dare start an internal fight now. In case Savior and his team are still around, we will only become a laughing stock.”
Qin Ruo also rolled his eyes on Black Rock’s pointless suggestion. “If they want to see, let them be. They won’t try to sneak from our backs so blatantly judging by their prestigious status. Don’t try to stir shit. Leave them and prepare to enter the lair.”
Three of them nodded and simultaneously looked down on the more than a hundred gigantic Cyclops creatures below them.
***
After ascending, Netherclaw and Snowmelt watched on as Qin Ruo and the other three flying players directly below them began raiding.
“Are you really going to give up on what’s in there?” Snowmelt was the one who raised the question.
Being one of the Clan Leaders of the associate clans under Netherspirit’s Claw League, he was clearly unhappy after getting belittled by a few newly promoted rascals. He was especially offended by Qin Ruo’s daunting tone and manner.
‘Who does he think he is, huh? Just a mere Aquamancer that shot to the top of Angel Faction because he was lucky enough to own a rare Pet. He thinks he can be on the same level as the legendary Netherclaw just because he had the chance to take down Savior and Death Jesus during the siege? What a disgusting arrogant kid!
‘Even Galbis’ death is questionable. He was clearly aided. Information from the Demon Faction indicated that there was another Angel Faction player there during the event!’
No matter what, Snowmelt refused to accept the fact that the newly promoted Aquamancer could become so powerful in such a short span of time.
Netherclaw, on the contrary, held a completely different opinion.
He knew that nothing was a coincidence.
Qin Ruo might be lucky being able to finish off Savior in that situation, but two in a row with Death Jesus, then Leon? The ability to kill three veteran Tier 5 Champions using the same method proved how capable Qin Ruo was.
Besides, Fateless was not some nobody. The No. 1 Bandit in the Angel Faction was egoistic and full of himself. Someone who had no charm and no leadership would never get the nod from such a prideful player.
Netherclaw shook his head after listening to Snowmelt’s question. “It depends. If they can manage, then we will have no chance. We shall wait and take the opportunity only in case they slip.”
“Ain’t you being too careful?”
“Too careful? Am I?” Netherclaw snorted and continued, “If they were four delicious easy-to-get bones, you think Savior and his dogs would leave them behind easily? Remember this, they have all been embarrassed by Qin Ruo before and couldn’t wait to skin him, yet they decided not to push their luck.”
“…”
“Anyway, don’t be dejected. Just you wait. I will not let go of any chance that can penalize that arrogant kid.” Once he finished the sentence, he refocused onto the battlefield.
Qin Ruo and team had already entered the attack range of the Cyclops creatures below them.
To the two observers’ surprise, Qin Ruo opted neither for a forced landing nor had he deployed the highest defense and most evasive Subjugator to deviate the Cyclops creatures’ firepower.
The first player to land on the top of Galbis’ Lair was none other than the Terramancer Black Rock.
Alone, he jumped in front of his comrades and dug into the crowd of Cyclopses using his dual defenses to withstand the rain of physical skills and magic spells.
“This kid is insane!”
Watching the figure of Black Rock being engulfed by numerous overlapping skills and magical radiances, Netherclaw and Snowmelt could not help but exclaim.
Even they would not dare to face such heavy fire from the monster horde this way.
They might be able to sustain the magic spells as long as those are not cast by a Boss-tier monster. The problem is with the physical, range and melee, assaults. Most of it was lethal against an Elementalist.
Such a combination of spells and physical bombardments would beat any Tier 5 Elementalist to dust easily.
However, a moment later….
***
Bam!
Black Rock landed “safely” among the monsters crowd.
Despite his Rock Barrier quaking vigorously on his way down due to the persistent skills and spells leased on him by the monster army, the assorted attack did not damage his Barrier by more than thirty percent. He might be like a rocking boat that swayed in a stormy sea, but he was not getting harmed at all. Galbis’ Despair Set displayed its worth in this case. Coupled with the weakening effect of Rock Barrier toward physical damage, every physical attack that landed on him were halved its original effect. The remaining damage could no longer trouble Black Rock who currently had three Legendary and two Dark Gold equipment.
As soon as he touched the ground, his charged spell was released instantly.
Like a sharp blade that penetrated into the crowd of Cyclops creatures, a giant comet dropped from the sky and headed right into the center of Galbis’ Lair.
Boom!!!
The entire Galbis’ Lair shook as a result of the impact.
Then a visible giant shockwave akin to one from an atomic bomb, spread out in all directions. This staggered the monsters and forced them to tumble backward.
A Tier 5 AoE offensive spell was not deadly against a bunch of Tier 5 and 6 monsters with HP close to ten thousand. What was deadly to them was the follow-up attack by the three adventurers behind Black Rock. Qin Ruo, Subjugator, and Apocalypse dropped within 30 meters above Galbis’ Lair’s peak and acted decisively when most of the monsters were still distracted by Black Rock’s spell.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Right after the chaotic blast of shockwaves as a result of the meteorite crash, AoE spells and attacks of the three players were cast simultaneously in one region.
Qin Ruo, with his back on Apocalypse, landed on the center as well as the highest point of Galbis’ Lair. Covered by Subjugator and Black Rock, the two Elementalists began to use spells to clean up the remaining monsters on top of the lair orderly.
Whoosh!
Poochie dashed into the muddled battlefield like a bolt of lightning. It was followed by Black Rock’s Two-headed Poison Scorp, a five-meter-long leopard that was summoned by Apocalypse, as well as Subjugator’s giant gold bat. The Pets’ debut into the battle caused the Cyclops monsters a lot of misery.
Qin Ruo’s multiple Frostburst resulted in the scariest amount of damage. One round of Frostburst was sufficient to remove half the HP from a Tier 6 Monster, which meant that some monsters with already depleted HP were instantly killed by Qin Ruo. (The effect of Special Roasted Snails and Great Tree Sap used by Qin Ruo to defeat Galbis earlier still had not worn off yet)
Due to Subjugator and Poochie courageous performance at the frontline, the area leading to the entrance of Galbis’ Lair was soon cleared out.
Black Rock and Apocalypse had also done a wonderful job.
With Black Rock attracting all the monsters’ attacks, Apocalypse did not need to worry about being attacked. He was rather relaxed and only needed to pour in his spell together with his Pet against the aimless creatures from the back.
In less than two minutes, more than a hundred of Cyclops creatures were in disarray across the battlefield.
The four paths leading up to the peak were currently sealed off by the four-man party, with each player taking care of one pathway.
After they had the situation under control, the three Elementalists among them except Subjugator began to transfer their perception range downward into the lair. They scanned the lair quickly for things like treasure or chests.
Qin Ruo even passed the job of defending to Poochie and activated Aquamorph. He promptly entered a higher level of Elemental Perception and increased his sensing radius by another hundred meters.
Shortly, Qin Ruo found a grotto among the irregular terrain of mountains that fit the criteria. It is slightly larger and damper than the other openings. Inside it, of course, rested a golden chest that attracted Qin Ruo’s attention. Besides that, a few unattractive black plants were also seen in it.
‘Herbs! A treasure chest!’
“I found it! Fateless, Lock, I have located the treasure chest. Coordinates ******, ******. God speed!”
“Right away!”
“Let’s get down there too.”
He suddenly raised his head to observe Netherclaw and Snowmelt, who appeared to have quietly reduced their altitude by a hundred meters after he gave out the orders. His eyes glinted as he turned back and voice messaged Black Rock. “Gravity Field!”